L'Italo-Americano
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015
www.italoamericano.org
8
Continuing their long-standing
collaboration with the Getty
Villa, the Patrons held their annu-
al Spring visit on Sunday after-
noon, March 29, to experience
the amazing "Roman Silver
Treasures" exhibition. The mem-
bers' café luncheon was honored
by the presence of Dr. Jeffrey
Spier, Ph.D., Senior Curator of
Antiquities. Dr. Spier obtained
his B.A. in Classical Archaeology
at
Harvard, and his Ph. D. from
Merton College, Oxford. He gave
the members a 'pre-tour'
overview
of the details that went
into
the many years of restoration
and historic documentation prior
to the exhibition.
"After
an enjoyable luncheon
and great discussion, Dr. Spier
gave the Patron members a most
wonderful 'private tour' which
was even more interesting, given
his extensive knowledge of the
history of the exhibition's many
treasures", reports Paul Romano,
Patron President.
The Patrons learned that the
silver treasures were found in the
fields of a Normandy farm in
1830,
and this is the first time the
treasures have been seen outside
France. The treasure trove con-
sists of silver artifacts dedicated
to the Gallo-Roman god Mercury
and are simply amazing. The
large silver statue of the god
Mercury is quite spectacular!
Other Roman objects of luxury
were also on exhibition.
After completing the tour, Dr.
Spier led the members to the
Apulian Funerary exhibition, con-
sisting of 13 elaborately decorat-
ed vases. The sheer size and
details of the collection was out-
standing. This was a fitting end to
the visit and the members had a
farewell photo taken with Dr.
Spier to memoralize the event.
The
Patrons of Italian Culture
will continue their close collabo-
ration with the Getty and look
forward to many more 'private
tours' of the Getty's extensive
collections in the future.
For Membership application or
more information about the
Patrons of Italian Culture, and
their 50+ years of promoting
Italian Culture throughout
Southern California, contact them
at: P.I.C., P.O. Box 3465,
Burbank, Ca. 91508-3465 or visit
their website: 'picla.org'. The
P.I.C. is a non-profit 501c-3 Corp.
Patrons Enjoy Private Getty Tour "Roman Silver Treasures
Exhibition"
Patrons
with Dr. Spier at the Getty Villa
PAUL ROMANO
Patrons enjoy Café luncheon with Dr. Spier
